New Video Game Aims to Build Human Rights Culture around Immigration

March 20, 2008

A new game on the internet is called ICED and stands for "I
Can End Deportation." As players step into the shoes of immigrants, they
critically examine the U.S.
immigration system and how newcomers navigate it. The game came out of a
collaboration of Hunter
College students and
Breakthrough, a New York-based international human rights group. Breakthrough
staff then worked with high school students, immigration attorneys and
detainees to build the game. They did
not consult with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement which oversees
detention and removal.

Through ICED, Breakthrough aims to educate individuals on
what the organization feels are abusive policies and behaviors that deny legal
rights to immigrants. They believe that "immigration policy is a bigger
conversation about what kind of America
we want to live in." ICED also focuses on judgments that immigrants must make
to avoid detention and deportation, and provides information on how to get
involved in supporting immigrant rights.

Suzanne Seggerman, co-founder of the non-profit Games for
Change which supports organizations using digital games for social change, sees
immense value in the video game format. She explained, "There's probably not a
lot of reading kids have done about immigration before. They're not watching
newscasts. How else are you going to reach them? You've got to reach them on
their own turf." Breakthrough Executive Director Mallika Dutt further points to
the unique ability of pop culture to open conversation, but that it's a one-day
wonder and "you have to build upon the buzz." So while ICED is being
distributed to schools and immigrant rights groups, it comes with a curriculum
that teachers can use to educate students on human rights and law making.

Players should expect a long downloading time and simplistic
portrayal of immigration. However they can anticipate an experience of
what it
feels like to be "in the system", especially if one chooses the first
person view option. Somewhat unexpectedly, even the knowledgeable
immigration
expert will learn little known facts about detention center ownership
from this
game.

The game comes at a time when the Pew Research
Center estimates that by
2050, 1 in 5 Americans will be an immigrant, and a recently released report by
The Opportunity Agenda points to the need for advocates to figure out how to
have a new conversation about immigration. ICED can be downloaded for free at
www.icedgame.com.